Melbourne Rebels will be without Kurtley Beale for up to a month

Wallaby back Kurtley Beale has been ruled out of Super Rugby for up to a month with a fractured hand, his Melbourne Rebels team confirmed on Monday.

The Rebels fly-half is expected to undergo surgery after scans revealed a fracture to his left hand.

The 24-year-old was already playing in the Super 15 with an injured left shoulder, which is likely to require surgery at the end of the domestic season, which includes a three-Test series against the touring British and Irish Lions.

He suffered the latest injury in the Rebels’ bonus-point loss to NSW Waratahs on Friday.

Beale said he would use the time off to work on his troublesome shoulder.

“I will try and focus on getting the shoulder right and get that back to full strength,” Beale said.

“I need to do a lot of strengthening work around the rotator cuff so hopefully the time out will give me the opportunity.”

The Rebels face the Queensland Reds (who hold an unbeaten winning record against the Rebels) in an Australian conference derby on Friday night at AAMI Park .

The task of breaking their record against the Reds will be made even harder without Beale who was looking to line up against Queensland no.10 and fellow Wallabies star Quade Cooper.